Gurpurab
Sikh tradition
Gurpurab (Punjabi: ਗੁਰਪੁਰਬ (Gurmukhi)), alternatively spelt as Gurpurb, in Sikh tradition is a celebration of an anniversary of a Guru's birth marked by the holding of a festival. The celebration is also known as a Prakash Purab or Prakash Parv.
Gurpurab of Guru Nanak
The birthday of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, comes in the month of November, but the date varies from year to year according to the lunar Indian calendar. The birthday celebrations last three days. Generally two days before the birthday, Akhand Path is performed in the Gurdwaras. One day before the birthday, a procession is organised which is led by the Panj Piare and the Palki (Palanquin) of Guru Granth Sahib and followed by teams of singers singing hymns, brass bands playing different tunes, 'Gatka' (martial art) teams show their swordsmanship, and processionists singing the chorus. The procession passes through the main roads and streets of the town which are covered with buntings and decorated gates and the leaders inform the people of the message of Guru Nanak. On the anniversary day, the programme begins early in the morning at about 4 or 5 am with the singing of Asa di Var (morning hymns) and hymns from the Sikh scriptures followed by Katha (exposition of the scripture) and lectures and recitation of poems in praise of the Guru. The celebrations go on till about 2 pm.
After Ardas and distribution of Karah Parshad, a special Langar is served on the day of Gurpurab.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gurpurab” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.